John Richardson was selected as one of the most promising leaders of state government.

BRUNSWICK – House Majority Leader John Richardson, D-Brunswick, is one of 40 emerging state leaders from across the nation selected for the Toll Fellowship Program, sponsored by The Council of State Governments.

The Toll Fellows Program is aimed at developing the next generation of leaders from all three branches of state government. The agenda focuses on trends, critical thinking, professional growth and development and becoming a better leader in times of term limits.

The experience is intended to expose leaders to perspectives they would not ordinarily obtain during the course of their regular governmental service. The annual program held in Lexington, Ky., is named in honor of Henry Toll, a Colorado senator who in 1933 founded CSG, a national nonprofit public service organization. This year’s program will be held Sept. 3-18, 2003.

Richardson was nominated by Speaker of the House Patrick Colwell, with endorsements from Chellie Pingree, the former Senate majority leader and national president of Common Cause, and Charlene Rydell, former House chair of the Banking and Insurance Committee and a health policy analyst for Rep. Tom Allen.

Richardson was selected from a number applicants by a committee of state elected and appointed officials as one of the most promising leaders of state government.

The Toll Fellowship alumni list of graduates is growing long and distinguished, including several sitting lieutenant governors, state constitutional officers, legislative leadership, judicial branch officials, agency directors and many members of Congress.

Richardson is a three-term representative. As a freshman on the Banking and Insurance Committee, he led the effort to enact a Patient Bill of Rights. Later, as House chair of the committee, he sponsored and wrote an economic development bond bill that passed the June 2002 ballot. He also sponsored the $12 million housing bond to stimulate affordable housing in southern Maine.


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